Shipment of illegal guns intercepted at Castries Wharf Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

Hours after St Lucia Prime Minister Philip J Pierre announced plans to work closely with US authorities in curbing the proliferation of illegal guns on the island, a shipment was intercepted at Port Castries, details of which are still coming in.

“We don’t manufacture guns and most of these guns come from the US,” Prime Minister Philip J Pierre told reporters.

Last week the Department of Homeland Security declared there would be a crackdown down on illegal gun trafficking to Haiti and the Caribbean.

Pierre says there is no manufacturing of guns in the Caribbean region and in order to tackle the serious implications of the importation of illegal firearms in the region, there must be some kind of cooperation with the United States.

In March 2020, a barrel of weapons and ammunition was found at Port Castries, where a customs broker was arrested as he attempted to clear the shipment. The shipment contained nine Glock pistols and three AK-47 rifles and approximately 400 rounds of ammunition.

According to the Prime Minister, the issue of illegal firearms in the region is a transnational issue and in the wake of the rising gun violence regionally, something needs to be done.

NewsAmericasNow.com